Paul in Philippi (Acts 16)
Paul and Silas were opposed for causing a disturbance in the city through preaching the gospel. The crowds were enraged and the magistrates joined in on condemning them. They were beaten with rods publicly and put in prison. The next day, the magistrates ordered them released but Paul, pointing to his citizenship, argued that they were treated unfairly. He and Silas, as Roman citizens, had the right to a fair trial. A presumption of innocence, rather than guilt, was owed to them as citizens. When the magistrates heard that they were citizens, they were afraid and came to personally apologize to Paul and Silas.Paul in Jerusalem (Acts 21–23)
Paul found himself again in the center of controversy as he visited Jerusalem to deliver aid to the believers there. While he was not preaching or teaching, his reputation among the Jews was known and so a crowd formed accusing him of turning people away from the laws of Moses. It was turning violent so Roman soldiers intervened. The Roman tribune ordered Paul to be “examined by flogging” to which Paul said, “Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” (Acts 22:25). The tribune was then afraid that he had bound a Roman citizen which is contrary to Roman law. From then on, Paul was then protected from the mob and a fair trial was sought. When further plots were revealed against Paul, the tribune sent him to Caesarea for his own safety.Paul in Caesarea (Acts 24–25)
In Caesarea, Paul was under house arrest while a decision was to be made concerning the accusations made against him. It was during this time that Paul, again using his rights as a Roman citizen, appealed to Caesar, the highest court in the Roman Empire.In all three cases, Paul dealt with angry crowds, local magistrates, law enforcement, and governors by appealing to a higher authority—the rights afforded to a Roman citizen. Local magistrates, law enforcement, or governors had an obligation to respect the rights afforded to citizens. They were bound to follow the laws of the land and they had no authority to change them or restrict a citizens’ rights in any way.
Christians in Canada
Whatever lessons may be learned from these interactions, one thing is clear. It is not out of place for Christians in Canada to appeal to the rights afforded to citizens of Canada for the sake of Christ and the gospel. In Canada, our highest appeal is not to Caesar but to the constitution. Local magistrates, city councillors, provincial premiers, not even the prime minister of Canada has the authority to remove or withhold the rights afforded to all citizens of Canada penned in the constitution.The constitution is Canada’s highest law. Part of the constitution is the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Charter begins with these words, “Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law: The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: (a) freedom of conscience and religion; (b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication; (c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and (d) freedom of association.”
What the Canadian constitution states (upon the foundation of the supremacy of God and his law) is that all citizens of Canada have fundamental freedoms. These freedoms include religious worship, religious belief and expression, peaceful assembly and freedom of association.
Churches in Canada
There are many who consider churches who choose not to restrict attendance, nor enforce physical distancing, nor enforce mask mandates are acting in defiance to the government and are therefore in defiance to God and his rule (cf. Romans 13:1-6). However, there is a higher authority in our country than recent edicts and restrictions, namely, the constitution. Churches who choose not to follow all government health orders are legally operating according to the rights granted to citizens of our country. Churches and Christians have the freedom in Canada to freely assemble and freely practice religion. In fact, one could argue that it is not churches who are defying the law, it is the civil magistrates who are defying the laws of our country. No level of government has legal authority to cancel church or Thanksgiving dinner. In doing so, they violate the constitution, the nation’s highest law.Now, it is true that the Charter allows for limits on fundamental freedoms that are “demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.” Lawyers at The Justice Center for Constitution Freedoms, who are experts in constitutional law, wrote a comprehensive paper back in May to argue that COVID-19 does not give justification to violate the fundamental freedoms of Canadian citizens. I commend that paper and their more recent work to you.
In following Paul, as one with dual citizenship, we can appeal to our earthly citizenship to advance the gospel and continue to worship our great God. In fact, in a democratic society, as citizens who are involved in the governance of our nation, it is incumbent upon us to value and defend the freedoms we are afforded as citizens. People who do not value freedom will soon find it taken away.